BOSTON/PRNewswire/ -- Fiksu, Inc. (www.fiksu.com), developer of the award-winning Fiksu Mobile App Marketing Platform that combines advanced media optimization technology with the world's largest app media inventory, today revealed that the start of the holiday season drove mobile app marketing costs up by 30 percent in November as the volume of mobile app downloads dipped.
For November, the Fiksu Cost per Loyal User Index shot up by 30 percent, or 32 cents, to $1.38, compared to October's $1.06. This marks a sharp change in the Index's trajectory, which steadily declined during the preceding four months, hitting a low for the year during October when the iPhone 5 launch prompted heightened organic searches and more cost-efficient marketing spends. November's spike brought marketing costs remarkably close to last year's level in November 2011 ? a month that also mirrored the impact of the iPhone 4S launch followed by the holiday rush.
The Fiksu App Store Competitive Index (which measures the average aggregate daily download volume of the top 200 free U.S. iPhone apps) decreased to 4.57 million daily downloads in November, down 15.4 percent from October's 5.4 million, which had been a seven-month high, driven by enthusiastic new iPhone 5 owners.
"We can chalk November's dramatic surge in mobile app marketing costs to increasing ? and anticipated ? holiday season spending, combined with a drop in organic downloads in the aftermath of the iPhone 5 launch," explained Micah Adler, Fiksu CEO. "We can expect costs and download volumes to climb through December, much like last year, as marketers spend heavily in preparation for the flood of new devices and rush of user activity and app discovery around Christmas."
The Fiksu Indexes measure monthly fluctuations in competition for rank in the Apple App Store and the cost to acquire loyal users1, helping mobile app marketers benchmark their performance against industry trends.
For Fiksu's full analysis, visit http://www.fiksu.com/resources/fiksu-indexes#analysis.
Fiksu has accumulated more than 63 billion app actions including launches, registrations and in-app purchases, as well as real-time bidding requests. This data is used to drive real-time optimization of ad campaigns, to help app developers acquire large volumes of loyal users at very efficient costs.
About Fiksu
Fiksu, Inc. helps leading brands optimize their iOS and Android mobile app marketing campaigns and secure large volumes of loyal users. The company's flagship platform, Fiksu® Mobile App Marketing Platform, spans the entire mobile ecosystem providing the most cost-effective, predictable and intelligent mobile advertising solution, slashing user acquisition costs and ensuring sustained user engagement. Additionally, Fiksu offers FreeMyApps? , an app discovery platform where users are rewarded. Based inBoston, Mass., Fiksu is venture-backed by Qualcomm Ventures and Charles River Ventures. More at www.fiksu.com, @Fiksu and on the Fiksu blog.
1: For the specific purpose of the Fiksu Indexes, a loyal user is defined as someone who opens an app three or more times.
SOURCE Fiksu, Inc.